Give Pain A Voice ! TM

"Chronic Pain is one of the most pervasive & intractable medical conditions...."NEWSWEEK June 4 / 2007

"Give Pain a Voice"TM non- profit is a grass roots movement based in Toronto, Canada. Many existing Pain organizations focus on specific Pain demographics - such as Arthritis , Crohn' s and Migraine. Beyond a multitude of publicly recognized Chronic Pain conditions, there lies a whole subset of Pain patients who have been marginalized and discriminated against, because our specific long term pain does not fit any existing model .

We are the INVISIBLE PAIN PATIENTS. Our pain is not readily recognized by external factors; we may not use a wheelchair or cane, we may look" just fine" on the outside; laboratory tests do not deliver a definitive diagnoses, but that does not mean we do not suffer alongside fellow pain patients who DO have a mainstream diagnoses.​ ​Did you know that Chronic Pain is about as individual as each one of us are? Currently, the OMA classifies Chronic Pain under "Somato- Emotional conditions" , along with mental health issues and addiction. We do not yet have our own disease status. As a result, many of us experience disbelief and outright discrimination because of this fact. While other diseases evoke compassion and the desire to offer help from family, community and society in general - pain conditions that fall through the diagnostic cracks provoke suspicion that our Pain is NOT REAL. As such we face intolerance, discrimination, isolation and sometimes downright hostility, for our inability to navigate daily functions such as housekeeping and care of children. Because there are no current medical tests available that prove our chronic daily pain, we are oftentimes dismissed and marginalized.

Our Mission is create a support network for pain patients to reduce isolation, lobby to governmental bodies for pain care reform, and produce media materials promoting better public awareness and understanding of Chronic Pain. We currently create and distribute advocacy materials to rally our population together in solidarity and reduce isolation; we also research and design educational materials to be made widely accessible to both pain patients and the health care professionals that treat them. Doctors receive on average 17 hrs of instruction in Medical school of how to diagnose and treat Chronic Pain. Veternarians receive approx. 70 hrs, for the same. It is critical we close that information gap.

We are, all of us, only one car accident, surgery or cancer away from living in long term pain. We either are or know someone close to us that is living with this syndrome. There are currently no clear- cut statistics available on Chronic Pain nos. in Ontario. A reported 94 % of North American long- term pain sufferers state their lives are a daily struggle . Of that same group surveyed, 91 % say it interrupts their daily routines. Of those, 82 % stated they no longer can manage simple household tasks without the aid and support of family members, friends or hired help. A whopping 72 % surveyed receiving various treatments for pain control , report that they are still in significant daily pain even after medication.

Long under- recognized by society and under- funded by medical research , Chronic Pain has become the fastest growing health issue in Canada, the USA and elsewhere . Those affected outnumber Heart Disease, Cancer and Diabetes patients combined. Recent polls show that both 1 in 4 Canadians and Americans suffer from intractable pain that will not resolve in their lifetime. With baby boomers reaching retirement age by 2020 , this growing wave of pain patients stands to reach epidemic proportions. Pain currently costs Canada 60 Billion annually, in lost wages treatment and productivity.

NOTE : Patient statistics are similar in Ireland, the UK and Australia ~ with 1 in 5 reported to be living in long term Pain.​The cost to families, the workplace and society is beyond imaginable. ​

We advocate that Pain Patients should have access to treatments and medications , that allow them to live in dignity and autonomy . Some insurance plans have discontinued financial assistance to helpful modalities. Many pain patients, for lack of health insurance or sufficient income to treat their disease , continue to live in daily excruciating pain. It's essential that "multi-disciplinary" modalities become mainstream , so that pain patients have diverse options to treat a myriad of pain conditions.

We see our role as educating society that Pain Care is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT.